


Chapter 7.5: The Ground's Color is Purple

by Pikablukachu



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, F/F, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:58:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16066472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikablukachu/pseuds/Pikablukachu
Summary: "A World Without You" Side/Bonus Chapter (contains modest spoilers for chapter 7)Some people never change, but others change quite a lot. Gensokyo's famed Hakurei shrine maiden pays an unexpected visit to the worst, most disastrous duo, who don't seem to have changed at all... but what's the point in changing yourself when you live in paradise?





	Chapter 7.5: The Ground's Color is Purple

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A World Without You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14279868) by [Pikablukachu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikablukachu/pseuds/Pikablukachu). 



> \--- Bonus Chapter for "A World Without You" ---
> 
> SPOILER WARNING: This story contains spoilers for the first half of "A World Without You". You can read it before that story if you want, but for the best experience I recommend reading it at any point after Chapter 7.
> 
> As a thank you to everyone who's read, supported, liked or even loved "A World Without You" over the last half a year, I wanted to write a little something extra! This bonus chapter focuses on a few of the characters from the main story that people wanted to see more of.
> 
> Thank you all so much, I hope you enjoy!

Knock knock.

"Knock knock~!" came a cheery, confident voice.

Silence.

"Who's at the door, honey?" Shion Yorigami asked. She was laid lazily on the hard, smooth wooden flooring, staring at the ceiling. Her long, dark blue hair appeared a tangled mess all around her head, but at least it was probably a little more comfy to lie on than the flooring alone.

Tenshi Hinanawi was indulging herself in colourful fruits - the sorts of exquisite delights you'd never normally find in Gensokyo. She leisurely meandered over to the window to peer outside, her light azure hair glistening behind her and her plush rainbow-coloured skirt flowing delicately. "A-ack!! It's that shrine maiden!?" she leapt back, shielding her face with her arms.

"Ooh!" Shion exclaimed with intrigue, hoisting herself up with her elbow. "It's been a while, huh?"

"I guess... I'd rather just ignore it though." Tenshi pouted, then turned to look at Shion. "By the way babe, why're you lying on that uncomfortable floor? We've got all this nice furniture for a reason!"

"I-I..." Shion mumbled. "You know I don't like using it... I just end up getting it dirty or ruining it somehow."

"Why do you care!?" Tenshi sighed. "I'm fortunate enough to easily replace any of that stuff!"

"It's not just that, it's-..."

"It's an unreasonable worry, relax!" Tenshi grinned nonchalantly, flopping down onto an extravagant looking couch. Shion fell silent, but smiled weakly.

KNOCK.  _KNOCK._   ** _KNOCK._**

"Hey, open up!!" the woman at the door's voice bellowed so assertively it almost threatened to knock the door down.

"E-eep!" Tenshi jumped from the couch in shock as Shion giggled at her, "You should get that, huh?" the poverty god clutched her stomach as she laughed at Tenshi's adorable reaction.

"Y-yeah..." Tenshi sighed, rubbing her temple with visible irritation. "Uggh she's not usually the type to visit, what if I'm in trouble..." she mumbled as she approached the door.

"Why, you haven't done anything for ages, have you?" Shion raised an eyebrow, grinning mischievously as she floated to her feet.

Tenshi opened the front door to greet none other than Reimu Hakurei - the one and only shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine, famed youkai exterminator and incident resolver of Gensokyo.

Her silky, long black hair was tied into a red and white ribbon at the back - a memorable and intimidating sign to almost everyone who lived in Gensokyo. Of course, being the red-white shrine maiden, Reimu’s long robes gave her away immediately too. The long, elegant robes she wore nowadays looked more priestess-like than anything she had worn in her youth - but make no mistake: Reimu Hakurei’s beautifully natural grace was only outmatched by her intimidating aura.

"Good afternoon~!" Reimu chimed with a gentle wave. A young girl clothed in simpler red and white robes was hiding behind her legs.

"W-whoa! Wrinkles!?" Tenshi grimaced as she pointed at Reimu's face. "H-how could you let that happen to yourself!? You used to be so cute!"

"Watch it." Reimu chuckled, absentmindedly opening and snapping shut an ornate hand-fan. "I'm human, remember? We age. Didn't you come to the cherry blossom viewing at the shrine this year anyway?"

"Yeah, but..." Tenshi squinted at Reimu, trying to figure out if she really was that same red-white shrine maiden. "Not... sober. Also I don't care enough to pay attention to such trifling things!"

During the highs of a party, little things like wrinkles were very easy to ignore, apparently.

"Don't worry, you still don't look anywhere near as unhealthy as me, Miss Reimu." Shion giggled to herself.

"Ehm." Reimu tilted her head at Shion with a sheepish smile. "I'll take that as a compliment?"

"No, you won't." Tenshi frowned at Shion. "She's not supposed to look down on herself like that." Shion just responded to Tenshi by sticking her tongue out.

"S-so uh..." Tenshi rubbed the back her head awkwardly, shuffling her long and bright azure hair as she turned back to Reimu. "What brings you here today, shrine maiden? How'd you even know where I live..."

"Oh that? That's easy." Reimu shrugged, fanning herself idly. "As for why, I'm here to teach this little one about Senkai today!"

Reimu reached down to her side and patted the young girl on her head. She waddled out from behind Reimu and bowed politely, yet anxiously - a quiet fire of excitement burning in her eyes. She looked like she couldn't have been much older than six years old...

"Tch." Tenshi put her hands on her hips. "You’re bringing snotty rug rats into my heavenly home!?"

"No snottier than me, surely?" Shion mused to herself as she waved cheerfully at the little girl.

"Enough with the self-hate, already..." Tenshi glared at Shion. Shion smiled awkwardly to herself.

"A- _ANY_ WAY!" Tenshi shouted, trying to change the subject. "Aren't you a little too old to be having kids?"

Reimu stared at Tenshi for a moment, then snorted and raised an amused eyebrow. She led the child into Tenshi's living area and sat together with her on one of Tenshi's most expensive-looking couches. "Me? My daughter's already long grown and flown the coop. This is my grandkid."

Blink. Blink blink. "Wh- _WHAT!?_ " Tenshi shouted in shock. "Since when did you have kids!? Humans do stuff so fast, this is nuts!"

"Well... if you ever paid attention to life outside your little bubble, perhaps you'd notice things like that. Have you really not changed at all?" Reimu smiled condescendingly, slapping her fan to her palm with an intimidating thunk as her granddaughter giggled. "Anyway, little one!" A grin spread across Reimu's face as she ruffled the child's hair affectionately. "Do you need anything? A drink? A snack?"

"Y-you can't just barge in here and help yourself to our food!!?" Tenshi huffed in exasperation, dragging along an even more expensive couch just to show off, and sitting on that one instead.

"At least they wouldn't be wasting or spoiling it like I do?" Shion giggled to herself, as if this were her attempt at joining the conversation.

"Shion,  _please_  shut up." Tenshi snapped, rubbing her temple. Shion visibly deflated, her shoulders slumping. "I-I'm... I'm sorry... Tenshi..."

"Ummm..." the young girl meekly piped up, rolling her eyes a little. "I... don't need anything, it's fine..." Reimu chuckled and ruffled her hair again.

Tenshi sighed loudly and patted the couch next to her. "Babe, sit with me okay? I'm not mad..." she pouted, a light pink scattering her cheeks. Shion sulkily floated across the room to sit with Tenshi, who wrapped one of her arms possessively around the poverty god. Shion meekly nuzzled into Tenshi's shoulder.

An awkward silence filled the room for a few moments.

" _Aaaany_ way." Reimu assertively broke it with a snap of her fan. "Sweetie!" she turned back to the child. "This is 'Senkai', it's a secret world for hermits, a hidden space that most normal people and youkai are unable to find. It's very well-suited for hermits, since they require rigorous, undisturbed training. You know, like auntie Kasen?"

The little girl nodded fondly. "Ohh yeah! Are we gonna go see auntie's mansion?"

"Yeah,  _are_  you?" Tenshi's eyes lidded in annoyance. "Why didn't you take the brat over there instead? That woman would probably be a lot more helpful than me..."

"No, because!" Reimu laid back, one leg crossed theatrically over the other as she covered her face with her fan. "I thought a _celestial and poverty god_ living in Senkai was  _much_ more interesting than an oni living in Senkai." her jaw then awkwardly clenched as her eyes lidded. "And... Kasen would probably just end up lecturing me about something."

"Some things never change, huh..." Shion giggled weakly, to which Reimu chuckled.

"So, Tenshi is a celestial" Reimu continued, gesturing to the azure-haired woman with the rainbow-pattern dress. "Celestials are extremely high-class immortal beings who usually live in heaven, living extremely carefree lives...

Shion, on the other hand..." Reimu pointed her fan at the dark-blue-haired woman wearing little but rags. "Is a poverty god. Well, technically she's a god of misfortune, absorbing the misfortune around her and therefore causing misfortune to those near her... but since she became known for causing poverty, that's what people call her now."

"Soo... why's there a celestial and poverty god living in Senkai anyway, gramma?" the little girl looked up to her grandmother inquisitively.

"Well, that's part of why they're more interesting for budding shrine maidens than Kasen is." Reimu grinned down at her little apprentice. "See, hermits are the closest things in this world to celestials, and many of them are celestials in-training. Thing is...  _this_  celestial got her butt kicked out of heaven, time and time again. So basically, Senkai is kinda the closest thing to home for her!"

Tenshi scowled at Reimu. "You really are annoying, I hope you know that." The shrine maiden just chuckled confidently from behind her fan.

Shion protectively wrapped her arms around Tenshi, pouting at the shrine maiden. "B-but she's staying down here for _me_! Even if she tried to go back to heaven, they'd all just see how disgusting I am and make me leave by myself... s-so..."

Tenshi frowned again, shooting a glare to Shion. "Stop! You're  _not_  disgusting!" she held the poverty goddess by her shoulders, staring her in the eyes with confidence. "And if those stuck-ups in heaven _ever_ called you that, I'd kill them all  _myself_!"

Shion's mouth wobbled into a smile. She meekly clutched Tenshi's wrists and nuzzled a little more comfortably into the celestial.

" _Ooohhh!_ " the little miko's eyes lit up, mercifully dispelling the fresh awkwardness in the air. "So they're living in Senkai cus it's uhm, it's like, it's the closest thing to heaven that isn't heaven, and they're in love like you and nana?"

Reimu own eyes lit up with pride. She virtually dropped her fan to the floor as she beamed excitedly at the girl. "Yes! That's right!" She squished her granddaughter's cheeks. "Good gods, how the hell did I get such a smart protege huh!? What an amazing girl! Did we even need to come here at all!?"

The miko-in-training grinned and giggled as Reimu lavished praise on her "Uhhuh, it was still exciting to see a different part of Senkai and properly meet them both!"

"So diligent...! So hungry for knowledge...! It brings a tear to my eye..." Reimu cuddled her face. Shion couldn't help but giggle at how cute it all was while Tenshi just pouted again. Still, even she couldn’t help but blush lightly at the girl’s comment that she was excited to meet them.

Reimu turned back to the couple. "Speaking of you being stuck down here though, what exactly do you two get up to nowadays? Besides the odd prank, I don't actually see you around much.”

" _Well_!" Tenshi's expression straightened up and she proudly nodded to herself. "We're simply enjoying _paradise_! I prefer to see this little bit of Senkai here as... just like heaven, but without rules! Wayy better than the actual heaven."

"Tenshi calls it o-our... ‘little utopia’, don't you honey?" Shion smiled warmly, infected by Tenshi's excited pride. "We can both freely be ourselves, and Gensokyo is right at our front door..."

"That's right!" Tenshi grinned, gripping Shion a little tighter. "Heaven is so boring compared to Gensokyo, but this way we get to balance peace, quiet, and great food with the occasional prank whenever we like! Everything's basically _perfect_...!"

Finally accepting the slightly more relaxed atmosphere... and admittedly a little curious, Tenshi decided to ask a question back. "Oh yeah, how's the wife anyway, Reimu?"

Reimu turned away from doting on the child again and grinned happily at Tenshi. "Ooh, so you  _do_  care! Maybe you're growing up after all, hm?"

"Don't push your luck." Tenshi's eyes lidded.

"Well, she's fine." Reimu's expression softened into a fond smile, a light pink scattering her face. "She still thinks I'm being far too soft on our granddaughter, but everyone always tells me I'm a harsh person so I'm sure she's just imagining things." she continued, her arm lovingly cuddling the young miko. "We were both pretty heartbroken when our daughter left Gensokyo, so looking after this one has really brought some light into our lives."

"How come you didn't train your daughter to be your successor? Wouldn't that have made more sense?" Tenshi leaned back slightly into Shion's cuddle, leaning her chin in her palm.

"You're getting pretty old, after all..." Shion giggled creepily. "Wouldn't it have made the sages really angry if you passed without finding a successor?"

Reimu leant forward, leaning her own chin in her hand and grabbing her hand-fan again. "Hey, I don't recall saying I planned on dying."

"You're gonna become a hermit?" Tenshi raised an eyebrow.

"Who knows." Reimu shrugged "But anyway! I know I seem like a natural now, but I  _really_  resented my lineage for forcing this job on me back when I was just a kid. I vowed to myself that no matter what, I'd let my own family do whatever the hell they wanted. Even if they ended up becoming my enemy."

"Y-your enemy!? Your daughter became your  _enemy_!?" Shion gulped and started to nervously chew on her nails. "Who on earth would ever want to become  _your_  enemy!?"

Reimu threw her head back, cackling loudly at Shion's reaction. "No one! But don't worry she didn't. She just..." Reimu sighed wistfully and fiddled with her hand-fan, while cuddling her successor's head possessively. "She always was just too independent. She fell in love with the Outside World... and who am I to blame her? I always loved stuff from out there."

"Family, huh." Shion mumbled bitterly. Tenshi shot her a worried, sympathetic look.

The young girl looked up at Reimu, frowning. "You're talking about mama again?"

"Heheh, yeah." Reimu forced a smile at the kid and pecked the top of her head. "Still, my no-good daughter may be an irresponsible moron, but her freedom to make that choice in the first place is something I’ll  _never_ regret. We'll  _always_  open our arms to her, no matter how much she hated it here." she huffed a wistful smile, comforting the young miko... even though it seemed like she was the one who needed comforting most.

"It's okay, gramma..." the young girl maturely patted Reimu's back.

"Yeah." Reimu snorted. "At least she actually visits! But that's the kind of Gensokyo I want anyway, a place that accepts that people and creatures can change, grow, love one another despite their differences."

"Love, huh..." Tenshi stared at the ground, pouting slightly. Shion gave her arm a gentle, affectionate squeeze.

"But _I_ never worried about a successor!" Reimu continued. "Sure my wife occasionally did, but I knew that if I waited long enough one would inevitably fall into my lap somehow. The sages nagged me, but they could never force me even if they wanted to. None of them is near strong enough to take me nowadays anyway, ohohoho!" she laughed heartily behind her hand-fan, as Tenshi and Shion sat laughing awkwardly at how truly formidable the shrine maiden had become.

"I just told them what I told my wife, and I was right! That's exactly what happened with this little natural-born Gensokyo enthusiast, isn't it!?" she excitedly and proudly squeezed her protege, who was looking increasingly bored with Reimu’s constant pampering.

"Besides, the one sage who  _really_  would have bothered me about all that is still asleep." Reimu's expression softened wistfully.

Shion pouted. "I did wonder why I hadn't seen Lady Yukari around lately..."

Tenshi raised an eyebrow at Shion. "Didn't know you particularly cared about her."

"I-I don't! Well... I still owe her one for that one time, I guess..." Shion mumbled.

"Yeah..." Reimu sighed longingly, a small knot building in her throat. "Everyone who knows her says this isn't particularly unusual. Sometimes she just considers herself finished with an era and sleeps it away... so I guess she was done with my era." she shut her hand fan and rested it on her knees.

"I've come to accept that..." her voice faltered slightly. "... Is what I'd like to say, I guess." she laughed weakly as she stared at the ground, her eyes lidding. "I tell myself I'm over it, but... every year, every spring, I still sit under the cherry blossoms thinking 'hey... maybe this year?’"

Another long, awkward silence. Both Tenshi and Shion awkwardly looked at each other’s knees rather than at Reimu, though their eyes darted to catch her melancholy expression once or twice.

Reimu sniffed quietly, wiping a loose tear from her eye. "Man... I wish she wasn't so impossible to wake up. I really really wanted to see her... just one more time.” she chuckled wistfully to herself. “I was so, so ungrateful to her while she was around! Maybe that’s just how I am, and she  _was_  a complete pain in my ass, but dammit I really took that woman for granted right up until she stopped waking up.”

The elder priestess took a deep breath in. “I still... I still have so much to thank her for. Even now, I just want to thank her for everything she's done... or to tell her 'I told you so'. Or something! I dunno."

The young miko wrapped her arms around her grandma, but rebelliously looked a little bored. Shion's eyes finally wobbled though, as Reimu’s plight tugged at her heartstrings. "O-oh, Reimu...! " she muttered, giving in and floating over to the shrine maiden to hug her. She shot a look over to Tenshi as if to say, ' _hey, you too!_ '

Tenshi glared and pouted... but shyly pulled herself from the couch to very apprehensively hug Reimu with the others. "I uh... I'm kinda sorry to make you talk about all that dumb stuff." Tenshi mumbled.

Reimu giggled, then chuckled, the laughed as the ‘worst, most disastrous duo’  _hugged_  her! What a riot! Just wait til her wife heard about this!

"Oh, it's fine!" Reimu slapped her knee as she wiped some more tears from her eyes. "I just... dammit, I really did love that beautiful, insufferable, incredible woman. I adored her."

"L-love!?" Tenshi yelped back from Reimu in shock. "B-but what about your wife!? Don't you love  _her_!?"

Reimu cackled even more loudly, even her little apprentice laughed. The older shrine maiden stood up and condescendingly put her hand on Tenshi's hat. "There are other kinds of love you know, silly girl."

Tenshi pouted, lightly blushing. "Hey... don't look down on me, or else..."

"You know, like platonic love... familial love..." Reimu glanced at Shion. Shion noticed Reimu's gaze and broke eye-contact, looking resentfully at the ground. "Can't say I've ever known what that feels like, Miss Reimu. Almost no one loves me, not even my family."

Tenshi nudged Shion’s side with her elbow. "Oh yeah? Well everyone loves me, and  _I_  love you! So in a way, everyone loves you too, Shion!" she clutched at Shion's hand tightly.

Reimu huffed a weak smile. "And you know what? I love you too. Both of you." She grinned as she assertively wrapped an arm around each of the worst most disastrous duo. "In a kind of, 'I love Gensokyo and everyone in it' sort of way!"

"Gross." Tenshi limply held her arms to her sides, blushing furiously. "You're correct to love me, but can't you at least love me because of how great I am instead?"

"Nah, I'm good."

Shion giggled to herself as Tenshi stubbornly put her fists on her hips. "And aren't you going to  _leave_  soon?" the celestial grumbled.

"I suppose, I suppose." Reimu giggled again, fanning her face mischievously. "Run along and explore outside for a moment, sweetie." she beckoned to the young miko.

"Okay, gramma, see ya in a bit!" the tiny miko, finally free from the samey constraints of her grandmother's old stories, pranced outside the front door to excitedly explore this little bubble of Senkai.

"Righty!" Reimu fondly pat each of her hands on the worst duo's heads. It really drove home how much taller and intimidating she was in her old age. "I do have  _one_  more thing to say, before I finally leave you both in peace."

"Yeah, I figured." Tenshi gave Reimu an irritated grin.

"It's a fair warning I'd give to anyone really, nothing personal!" she grinned confidently - the same menacing grin she had given to both Tenshi and Shion at various points many decades ago.

"But if you ever,  _ever_  hurt my granddaughter, I'll kill you."

An excited, but nervous grin spread across Tenshi's face. "Uhhm, I can think of a few reasons that wouldn't work! First off." she counted one of her fingers. "I'm a celestial, and we can't die. Second off!" she counted another "If you do decide to kick the bucket yourself, that'd make it pretty difficult!"

Reimu bent down just a little - so she was eye-to-eye with Tenshi. "I oh-so-love that nostalgic bravado of yours, but even if you're a celestial I'll still find a way to kill you. Even if I'm dead, I'll still find a way to kill you. It's that simple, really!"

"Whoa whoa!" Tenshi waved her hands, giggling as sweat beaded on her forehead. "It's not like I was gonna hurt her anyway, don't overreact!"

"A-and!" Shion piped up, giggling herself. "If you killed me, you'd only be doing the world a favour!"

"Shion..." Tenshi scrunched her eyes, balling her fists at her sides as her grin faded. "For crying out loud, stop it."

The umpteenth awkward silence.

"Ehm. I'll leave you lovebirds to each other then, shall I?" Reimu snapped her fan to her hand and glided elegantly towards the door, her long red and white robes trailing behind her. As she stood in the doorway, she paused for a moment before leaving.

"Do take care of each other, okay? I've always thought you were good for each other."

And with that, the fearsome Hakurei Shrine maiden turned and left, neatly sliding the front door shut behind her.

"What was that, babe?" Tenshi pouted, gripping Shion's hands. "What's with you today? You're being way, way too negative..."

"I-I..." Shion deflated, staring at the ground. "I probably just need some space... I'm just gonna go lie down, if that's okay..." she pulled her hands away from Tenshi. Tenshi weakly reached out towards Shion, but her hands shyly fell to her side.

Shion took a few steps, and then slumped onto the smooth floor and laid down. Face-first.

"Sh-Shion!!" Tenshi stomped up to her and squatted down. "We have a  _bed_!! A big, comfy, western one!?"

"Yeah, and last night I _broke it_. At 3am in the morning while I was turning over in my sleep. One of the springs popped out and poked you in the arm." Shion mumbled weakly into the floor. "I'm just, the absolute worst right? Haha!"

"You're being stupid." Tenshi grappled Shion's hand and tugged at it. "It didn't hurt, those beds can be replaced, I don't care-”

" _I_  care, Tenshi!!" Shion turned her head towards Tenshi, her voice escalating. "Do you know how it feels to constantly ruin everything around you!? Just by  _existing_!? Even feeling like a constant nuisance, feeling 'stupid', to the girl you love!?"

Tenshi stumbled backwards, holding her arm in front of her in shock. Shion sat up, crossed her legs and faced her lover. "Tenshi..." Shion bit her lip and scrunched her hands on her ankles. "I-I... I'm...” she sighed, her voice shaking. “... A little tired, of you treating my depression like something you can just... turn off."

"Wh-what...?" Tenshi stuttered, her eyes widening.

"I-it's like... every time it flares up, you decide to stop listening to me!" Shion forced out. "More and more actually, y-you just tell me to shut up, you get mad at me!! Y-you think I'm being stupid!!"

"Sh-Shion...?" Tenshi meekly shuffled closer to Shion. "I'm just saying you're wrong because it's not true! And if you just listened, it'd be over way quicker..."

"It's not. that. simple, Tenshi." Shion bit her quivering lip, her arms visibly trembling in fear. "D-do you even have any idea how difficult this is for me to talk about? Because I'm so scared you w-won't even listen to me, or ever try to understand how I feel."

"W-wait!" Tenshi held her hand out to Shion, but Shion brushed it away.

"Please, just listen to me,  _please_!?" Shion begged, clasping her trembling hands together. "Tenshi, I really,  _really_  hate myself. I despise myself for all the trouble I've cause you and everyone else since I was born. I constantly doubt that I'm worthy of your valuable time, let alone your love! And when you tell me to shut up it j-just convinces me that I'm right to worry! That I'm just... making your life worse."

The poverty goddess scrunched her eyes shut, struggling to stop them from tearing up. “I try so, so hard to keep it together for you, but I never  _asked_  to exist!!”

Tenshi's eyes continued to widen, seeped in an almost fearful expression. Her teeth clenched, her long azure hair almost flaring up as her head started to feel uncomfortably hot. Why? Why was this happening!?

"Wh-what can I do..." Tenshi slowly approached Shion, holding her hand out again, her expression bewildered. "Just tell me...!"

"I told you..." Shion muttered. "I just... I want you to listen to me...” she gripped her ankles so tightly that her nails almost dug into her skin. “I wish, I wish you were inside my head, I wish you could see how much I loathe myself, because I just want you to understand..."

' _I've let her down._ ' Tenshi's mind raced. ' _I messed up. She's... she's started to hate me, hasn't she? Because I'm so ignorant..._ '

"I... Shion, I love you!" Tenshi reached for Shion's hand and tugged her to sit on the couch with her. "I love you, okay? You'd never make my life worse, I-I..."

' _I'm so bad with words... I can't do this. I can't do this!! I'm not meant to do this, I never had experience trying to help people like this! What do I do!?_ '

Shion's lip quivered and her throat coaxed out a whimper or two. She leaned her head against Tenshi. Tenshi hesitated for a moment, but gently wrapped her arms around Shion's body. She held Shion tightly.

"I-is this okay...?"

Shion squeaked and nodded weakly. Her hands gripped the front of Tenshi's clothes tightly, and her throat squeaked again. Then some more, as she forced herself to speak. "M-my sister, you, everyone, you all hate me, I'm not good enough, I'm n-never, ever going to be good enough...!!" she shrieked, her voice cracking, tears building in her eyes.

"Sh-Shion I-..." Tenshi hugged Shion tighter, kissing her dark-blue hair as her own head became overwhelmed by a hopeless bewilderment. "I'm... I..."

As Shion wailed and sobbed onto a speechless, fumbling Tenshi, Tenshi's own eyes were so shocked they struggled to even blink. All she could think to do was hold Shion even tighter. Even tighter. Even t-...

Wait...

Who was she hugging, again?

Tenshi's arms fell in onto themselves, her hands awkwardly smacking into each other, her body falling forward onto the empty couch.

"H-huh...?" Tenshi stared at her trembling hands as tears trickled silently from her eyes. A single, dark blue strand of hair was caught in one of her fingernails. "Wh-wha..."

“Sh-Shion...” Tenshi shot up. "Shion!?  _Shion!!_ " she screamed. "Where are you!? Shion!?"

She rushed outside the house, her eyes darting around frantically. " ** _SHION!!_** " she screamed up the mountain in shockingly deafening tones, before sprinting back inside.

She checked the bedroom to see that the bed Shion had broken the night before had somehow been fixed. Or... was never broken in the first place. "Wh-what the hell!?" she shrieked, her eyes trembling in horror.

Tenshi charged back into the living area in a scrambled panic, preparing to dash outside again, when-

"Oh, Tenshi!" Shion piped up. "Thanks for listening to me, I uh..." she had a mischievous hand plunged into a bundle of rich-looking red grapes. "Letting that out helped a bit, so I was just having a snack, ehehe..."

Tenshi was frozen in place, her jaw hung open as she stared at Shion. "Y-you're... okay?"

"Mm?" Shion tilted her head, confused. "I think so... what's wrong, honey?"

"I-I..." Tenshi rubbed the side of her head. "Nothing, I guess...” she hung her head awkwardly and sighed heavily. “Um..." she rubbed her arm, still anxious about the things Shion said earlier "h-hey... wanna relax with a drink, or something?"

"Yeah, s-sure!" Shion grinned, wiping the remaining tears from her red eyes. She reached her hand out to Tenshi's and wiggled her fingers playfully. Tenshi latched on, and the two smiled sweetly at one another. "I'll, uhm... I'll go sit?" Shion giggled awkwardly.

"Yeah!" Tenshi nodded, she turned to the pair's stash of expensive sake, wine and other fancy drinks from all over the world. "I won't be a sec." she tilted her head to grin excitedly at Shio-

Gone.

"Wait..." Tenshi's hands drooped. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. She slapped her hands to her cheeks, but the room was... completely empty, besides her.

"N-no... don't go... d-don't leave me, please..."

Silence.

Tenshi picked up a bottle of the couple's favourite sake, and meandered weakly into the centre of the dead-empty living area. "...Shion?"

Silence.

She drifted around the main room, looking at all the expensive furniture, ornaments, exquisite food. "I tried so hard to make everything perfect! So you wouldn't hate me... b-but..." Everything, all the luxuries she had acquired over the years suddenly looked so... dark. So devoid of life. Like it didn't matter.

"D-dammit..." Tenshi weakly squeaked, confused tears building in her eyes again. "Shion, don't leave me!!"

"Hmm?" Shion's head poked over from the expensive-looking couch. "W-wait, are you crying babe!?" Shion jolted up and rushed to Tenshi's side, taking the sake bottle from her and setting it aside to stroke Tenshi's cheeks. "Sweetie, Tenshi, I'm here okay?" she gently pecked Tenshi's soft cheek and kept both her hands on Tenshi's face.

Tenshi brought her own hand to hold Shion's... it was so warm... she couldn’t lose this warmth, no matter what. No matter what Shion said about herself, this warmth, Shion's smile, was Tenshi's most valuable treasure. She kissed Shion's hand possessively, cuddling it to her face as tears trickled quietly from her eyes.

"H-hey..." Shion giggled, blushing lightly. "What's wrong? Why are you so upset?" she nuzzled Tenshi's hand. "You can tell me..."

Shion lead Tenshi towards the couch and the two sat down together. Shion clumsily poured a couple cups of sake for the two of them... the liquid spilled over the edges a little, but she did her best, and she did it with a doting smile. After pouring the cups, she set them to the side and wrapped her arms around Tenshi protectively.

"Honey?"

"Shion." Tenshi muttered, tears still hanging in her eyes, gripping Shion tightly. "You're here, right? With me? You're not going away anywhere?"

"I'm here, Tenshi... I'm right here." she pushed her nose into Tenshi's cheek and squeezed her ardently.

"We're still in love, right? You won't get tired of me?"

"I y͡b̶͡͠͞i̶͟͠r̢̡ you.

I'm a̛̛͘͝͠r̴̡͘͞i͏̕͟͞r͠ȩ͝҉͟ ̵̕҉t̴̨͝͏b̷̛v̡̧͢͜͜a̶҉͝͞t͘͘͟ ̵̸͘͢g͏͏̵͜b͟͢͞ ̷t̴̶̶̸͡r̴̵͜͝g͘͞ sick of you."

Tenshi's heart felt like it had tumbled into stomach. Her eyes trembled with a petrified fear. Her grip on Shion loosened.

"Wh....what d-did you say...?"

"I said." Shion giggled, squeezing Tenshi tighter. "I love you... I'm never going to get sick of you." she held her hands on Tenshi's shoulders and looked at her lover dotingly. "So as a toast to trying to understand each other better, let's have a drink?"

Shion passed the shaken Tenshi a drink and held her cup up. “T-to understanding each other...” Tenshi weakly muttered as she held her own cup up, her other arm clutching a strange ache in her gut.

“And, to our own little slice of paradise!” Shion beamed before downing some sake, savouring its rich flavour in her rosy pink cheeks... like she was the luckiest girl alive.

Tenshi smiled weakly at her lover, then hesitantly drank from her own cup.

It tasted like nothing.

Or perhaps, the horrifying knots and uneasiness in Tenshi's stomach were far too significant for the simple pleasures of fine drink to be noteworthy anymore.

Tenshi sidled up to her precious Shion. She rested her head on her beautiful Shion's deceptively warm shoulder, laying amid her cherished Shion's soft, dark blue hair, and gripped her.

Shion... the only person who had ever told Tenshi they loved her.

But no matter how tightly she held her Shion, her eyes remained wide in fear. Unblinking, trembling. After what she had just experienced; all her heart seemed to feel anymore was an intensifying, nameless fear.

**Author's Note:**

> ( link to A World Without You - Chapter 8: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14279868/chapters/34685705 )
> 
> So what the hell /is/ going on? Be sure to read the rest of the story to find out!
> 
> With that, I think I can leave the story of "A World Without You" satisfied with my work on it. If you've only read up to Ch7 so far, I hope you enjoy the rest, but if you've been here for the whole ride thank you all and I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> The title of this chapter isn't particularly deep. "The Ground's Color is Yellow" is Reimu's stage theme from SWR, the game Tenshi debuted in. Since the chapter focuses on those two and Shion, I thought it'd fit well. The "purple" is simply in reference to Yukari Yakumo, the protagonist and focus of the main story. She doesn't appear in this chapter, but her presence is definitely felt.
> 
> The main story ended up much longer than I expected, and in the end I found myself wanting to write more of the characters who ended up not appearing much - hence these three. Friends and commenters also wanted to see more of them, and I came up with this idea so quickly that I'm really happy I got to write it!
> 
> For now, if you'd like to see more of my stuff, I recommend my Reimu/Sanae story "Crush (on) Your Rival"!
> 
> \----------------------  
> Glossary:  
> miko - Literally 'shrine maiden'  
> Oni - an incredibly physically strong youkai, comparable to a demon or ogre. In Touhou, they are quite a rare youkai.


End file.
